Method 1: right-click the video twice
- Open the video on youtube.com and press play.
- Right-click the video. The first menu is YouTube's (loop, copy URL, stats for nerds).
- Right-click again in the same spot. Now Chrome's own menu appears.
- Click Picture in picture.
The video jumps into a floating window in the bottom-right corner. It stays on top of other tabs and applications, even when Chrome is minimised. To go back, click the Back to tab button in the window or close it.
Method 2: Chrome's media controls button
When a tab is playing media, Chrome shows a music-note media controls button on the right side of the toolbar.
- Play the YouTube video.
- Click the media controls button in the toolbar.
- Click the picture-in-picture icon under the video's name.
This works from any tab, so you can start picture-in-picture for a video that is playing in a background tab.
Method 3: automatic picture-in-picture when you switch tabs
Since Chrome 142, Chrome can open picture-in-picture automatically when you switch away from a tab that is playing a video with sound. It is off by default; the setup takes a minute and is explained in Automatic picture-in-picture in Chrome.
What you can and cannot do in the picture-in-picture window
| You can | You cannot |
|---|---|
| Move it to any corner or screen | Make it larger than Chrome's limit |
| Pause and play, skip back and forward | Open YouTube's settings, captions menu or quality menu |
| Mute, return to the tab | Read comments or the description |
Picture-in-picture in one click
The double right-click is easy to forget and slow when you do it many times a day. Youtube Pop Out Player adds a pop-out button to the YouTube player and a keyboard shortcut: one click opens the same picture-in-picture window, and the same button brings the video back. Our comparison shows the differences side by side.
Picture-in-picture is missing or does not start
If the menu item is missing or the window closes at once, see YouTube picture-in-picture not working: fixes.